15-year-old Designs Low-Cost Device to Monitor Airborne Bacteria in the Environment; Wins $25,000 Top Award at the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge

Young innovators awarded more than $100,000 for research on dementia-related proteins, alternatives to agricultural plastics and wildfire prevention Key Takeaways:…
2026: The top five Thermo Fisher JIC winners pose onstage with their awards.
Lisa Fryklund Photography/Licensed by Society for Science

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Kornelia Wieczorek at 2024 ISEF in Los Angeles
NASA Astronaut Candidate and Society alumnus Adam Fuhrmann
Ojal Astagikar presents her project poster
JIC 2025 Finalist Grid
Student by project board.
Ezekiel Wheeler wearing a headset as he works on a mission at Space Academy
Congratulations to the Top 300 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators! We’re excited to celebrate these outstanding middle school scientists and their achievements.